New Dorp Park

New Dorp was one of the first permanent European settlements on Staten Island: niewe dorp is Dutch for “new town.” It was officially established in 1671 to replace Oude Dorp (Old Town), which was destroyed in the Peach War of 1655. The Peach War had began when an Aquehongan squaw was shot for picking a peach in a New Amsterdam orchard. Angry Native Americans went on a rampage. The militia responded; several lives were lost; and fighting soon extended into Staten Island. Unfortunately, Oude Dorp was decimated.